KENYA: Upcoming Women’s Conference to Enhance Synodality through Inclusion and Spirit-Led Leadership
A photo for women's conference taken in 2023, Hekima
By Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
An upcoming conference for women theologians at Hekima University College in Kenya (HUC) aims to focus on the role of women in shaping the Church’s synodal journey under the theme: “Synodality in Action: Emerging Ecclesiologies, Vitality of Women and Discerning Leadership for the 21st Century.”
In a message shared by the conveners for the week-long conference slated for 2-8 September, in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, it states that “The vitality of women in the Church cannot be underestimated. Their wisdom, faith, and leadership are essential to reimagining the Church’s mission for the 21st century.”
The conference has been organized by HUC in collaboration with the Doctoral Scholarship for African Women Theologians, the Conrad Hilton Foundation, and Watawa wa Taa, a forum where sisters from various congregations in different countries come together for a meaningful experience of connection, dialogue, and mutual support through monthly sharing.
Additionally, the conference set to create space for women to share their experiences, challenges, opportunities, and aspirations, is a follow-up to the first Women Theologians Conference convened in 2023 at HUC. The 2023 event marked HUC’s 40 years of contribution to empowering African women theologians and highlighted the indispensable role of women in building a synodal Church.
The upcoming conference, therefore, intends to deepen this spirit of dialogue while addressing pressing questions about leadership, inclusion, and the evangelizing mission in Africa.
The conference further draws inspiration from the 1994 Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops and St. John Paul II’s Ecclesia in Africa (1995), which framed the Church in Africa as “God’s Family.” This vision emphasized solidarity, reconciliation, and communion, values that continue to guide synodal reflection nearly three decades later.
The African women theologians will be guided by the reflection, “How can the Church in Africa witness faithfully to the Gospel as a synodal Church while responding to the continent’s needs? The message shared by the organizers on Thursday, August 28, highlighted.
Further concerns include how leadership can be reimagined in regions often scarred by poor governance, and ways in which the synodal process can revitalize the way of life of African women religious.
The conference’ objective is to create a platform for the voices of African women theologians to be heard in global theological and ecclesial discourse, strengthen and channel the intellectual abilities, leadership, and contributions of African women religious towards the growth of the Church in Africa and beyond, to foster a spirit that is liberating and empowering for women and to create a network of African women scholars committed to the mission of the Church in Africa and beyond.
